Would You Watch a Reality Show About Women Giving Birth in the Wild?

Yes, you read that correctly. (I had the same "Holy crap, is this for real?!?!" moment, too.) A new Lifetime TV series, Born in the Wild, will actually have footage of women giving birth in the great outdoors. And it was all inspired by a viral video—one from which this very screen grab was taken.

Sound risky to you? Well, the network insists that although the births are unassisted by doctors, Lifetime will be taking precautions to ensure the safety of the mother and her newborn child, including keeping emergency professionals on standby, ensuring that the parents have clean health records and that the featured, pregnant woman is not a first-time mother.

Despite these promises of extra caution, there is still reason for medical concern, says Ron Jaekle, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Fetal Center. “I understand everybody wants to believe we overmedicalize pregnancy and that it’s a natural process. But it’s a natural process that historically has caused an extraordinary loss of life,” he explains.

As the press release for the show poses, “What happens when the craziest experience of a woman’s life becomes truly wild, and soon-to-be parents decide to take on an unassisted birth in the outdoors?” Well, guess I'll find out soon.

What do you guys think? Is this a harmless TV program or is it a much riskier endeavor than producers are giving it credit?